Gregory John McGannon, 63, has been found guilty of starting the Cherry Gardens and Clarendon bushfires on 24 January 2021.
Jurors handed down their verdict in the District Court on Wednesday 27 September, finding McGannon guilty of seven counts of causing a bushfire and one aggravated count of driving dangerously to escape a police pursuit.
During the trial the Court heard that after lighting seven fires, McGannon was caught with cigarette lighters, defaced licence plates and a blood alcohol reading of 0.145.
A police officer testified that he saw two metre high flames next to McGannon’s vehicle on the side of the road in the Adelaide Hills on the day.
Patrols then pursued his vehicle which reached speeds of 120km/h along an 80km/h road and overtook three cars against solid and double white lines.
The former CFS volunteer is in custody while he awaits his sentence in November.
